6 Days Rwanda Uganda Primate Safari

6 Days Rwanda Uganda Primate Safari

6 Days Rwanda Uganda Primate Safari lets you explore Volcanoes – Golden Monkey Tracking, Bwindi – Gorilla Trekking and Chimpanzee Tracking at Kyambura Gorge, Queen Elizabeth National Park. Explore a mix of Rwanda and Uganda’s lush volcanic and tropical forests on this thrilling 6-day safari. Experience.

The awe of locking eyes with the endangered mountain gorillas deep in the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, also home to over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population and Trackman’s closest relative, the chimpanzee, at Kyambura Gorge of Queen Elizabeth National Park with a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel as well as the golden monkey tracking at Volcanoes National Park. Scenic drives, breathtaking landscapes, and optional cultural/community encounters.

Day 0: Arrival in Kigali and hotel transfer.

Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met and warmly received by our company representative, who will transfer you to your hotel (20-min drive) for your check-in. Depending on your flight arrival time, you may just relax at the comfort of your hotel or go swimming but if time allows, and upon your interest, you may be transferred for an Optional short city tour of this clean, charming city of Kigali. Visiting the Kandt House museum, also known as the history house of Rwanda, visit the genocide memorial center before retiring back to your hotel.

Overnight at Kigali Marriott Hotel

Day 1: City tour and transfer to volcanoes national park

Breakfast at leisure, check out and meet your guide for a guided city tour of Kigali, visiting the genocide memorial center for an opportunity to learn more about the political history of Rwanda, commemorating the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Proceed with a scenic drive to the northern province of Rwanda, arriving just in time for your lunch. Check in and relax for the rest of the afternoon.

Dinner and overnight at Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel

Day 2. Golden Monkey tracking – Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Wake up for an early breakfast and transfer to the park head offices in Kinigi by 6:30 am Rwanda time. Join other golden monkey trackers for a briefing about the activity and the park. At 7:00 am, you’ll transfer to the trailhead, just about 20mins drive from the park offices/briefing point.

Enjoy great views of the mountain scenery as you start your trek to find the golden monkeys. The golden monkeys live near the edge of the park in the bamboo forests, where the landscape is relatively flat and easy to trek. Once you locate the golden monkeys, you will be allowed to spend one hour viewing and following them as they feed, noticing how they skillfully pick the young bamboo leaves from the tip of the bamboo tree.

They may also move out of the park into the potato fields. How they love the potatoes!
After an amazing one hour with the golden monkeys, you will return to the trailhead and drive back to the lodge for lunch and check out. Transfer to visit the Ellen DeGeneres campus of the Dian Fossey museum and later proceed to the Cyanika border post crossing into Uganda and proceed to the southern sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Dinner and overnight at Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge  

Day 3: Gorilla Tracking Experience

After an early morning full breakfast, you’ll be transferred (5mins drive) to the park’s visitor information office with your lunch pack for a briefing by a ranger guide on your day’s activity—the dos and don’ts during your gorilla trekking experience.

After the briefing, you will be led by an experienced ranger-guide hiking deep into the misty jungle. This may take a few hours to a full day activity depending on the location of the gorillas as well as your physical fitness/speed as well as your interests along the forest trails. Once you locate a gorilla family, your lead guide will give an additional safety briefing, offering you maximum safety and a lifetime experience with the gorillas.

It is such a humbling experience standing just a few meters from the gentle giants in their natural habitat. After your lifetime encounter with the gorillas, you’ll return to the lodge for a deserved relaxation or optionally participate in the Batwa community experience to learn more about these indigenous forest people, also known as the Batwa pygmies, who accepted to relocate from their original forest home to allow gorilla conservation.

Dinner and overnight at Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge

Please note: While you do not need to be an Olympic athlete to track mountain gorillas, it’s important to note that gorilla tracking requires some minimum effort and a relative degree of fitness.

However, should you have any walking or altitude challenges, you’re not left alone, for as little as $20 US dollars, a team of local community members also known as “potters” who are part of the Uganda Wildlife Authority conservation efforts are ready to assist you in carrying your backpack, hold you and giving you a push or pull on some technical hikes. It’s also a direct way to support the local community and enhance your gorilla trekking experience.

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, you will embark on a scenic journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The drive takes approximately 6hours with an opportunity for wildlife viewing along the way, breathtaking views, rolling hills, crater lakes and the Virunga Mountains. You will stop for lunch en route. Proceed to arrive at the park gates for your entry ticket payment, check into your lodge and relax for the rest of the evening at Mweya Safari Lodge with excellent Kazinga Channel views lined with elephants and buffalos.

Dinner and Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge

Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking Experience & Afternoon Boat cruise

After an early morning breakfast at 6:30am, you will be transferred to the Kyambura Gorge (approximately 45minutes drive) for a briefing before you descend into the gorge with your lead guide tracking our closest relative, the chimpanzee.

The Kyambura Gorge, also known as the underground forest or “valley of apes,” features a tropical rainforest and the Kyambura River hosting 5 primate species, Hipo and a rich avian list that no picture or explanation can do justice to except you experiencing it.

After your chimpanzee tracking experience, you will return to your lodge for lunch, relax at your lodge/swim, and later enjoy a 2hour sunset cruise on the Kazinga Channel that allows you excellent wildlife viewing and bird watching at close range. Return to your lodge for a deserved relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay at Mweya safari lodge with Excellent Kazinga channel views lined with elephants and buffalos

Dinner and Overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge

Day 6: Transfer back to Kigali for your flight

After breakfast, begin your scenic journey and depart one of Uganda’s most iconic and diverse national parks. Lunch will be served en route if you have a late night flight. However, if you have a late afternoon flight, you will have an early rise and have lunch in Kigali. Your guide will drop you off at Kigali Airport for your onward late evening/night flight or at your own booked hotel, marking the end of your amazing Rwanda/Uganda primate safari.

Please note: We recommend applying for an East African Tourist Visa from the first country of entry (Rwanda) that allows you seamless entrance to Rwanda and Uganda.

End of the safari